NORTHERN IRELAND POLICING BOARD HUMAN RIGHTS ANNUAL REPORT 2016-17 HUMAN RIGHTS ANNUAL REPORT 2016/17 CONTENTS 1. Introduction 1 2. PSNI Human Rights Programme of Action 2 3. Training 5 4. Policy 21 5. Operations 31 6. Complaints, Discipline and the Code of Ethics 47 7. Use of Force 106 8. Covert Policing 115 9. Victims 135 10. Treatment of Suspects 177 11. Policing with the Community & Human Rights Awareness 205 12. Privacy, Data Protection and Freedom of Information 209 13. Children and Young People 213 Appendix 1: 2016/17 Recommendations 228 Appendix 2: Implementation Status of Outstanding Recommendations from Previous Years 230 1 INTRODUCTION This Human Rights Annual Report was prepared by the Board’s former Human Rights Advisor Alyson Kilpatrick BL for the reporting period 2016-17. As the Board was not legally constituted from 27 February 2017 – 30 November 2018, it was not possible to publish the report or its recommendations at that time. Given the importance that is placed on this area of work, following reconstitution of the Board on 1 December 2018, the Board agreed that the report prepared should be progressed for publication. The report records the work undertaken by the Advisor during 2016-17 and the recommendations made have now been progressed with the PSNI. Its publication ensures there is continuity in the oversight reports produced in respect of assessing how the PSNI are meeting their human rights responsibilities. 1 2 PSNI HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAMME OF ACTION A central proposition of the Report of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, 1999 (the Patten Report) was that the fundamental purpose of policing should be, in the words of the Belfast Agreement 1998, “the protection and vindication of the human rights of all... There should be no conflict between human rights and policing. Policing means protecting human rights.”1 Those words were echoed in 2012 when the then Justice Minister for Northern Ireland was setting long-term Policing Objectives, with Objective 1 being, “that policing is delivered in a way that protects and vindicates the human rights of all and preserves the fundamental responsibility of the police to serve all parts of the community.” Likewise the Policing Board’s approach to fulfilling its statutory human rights monitoring function2 has been taken forward since 2003 on the basis that a commitment to indiscriminately safeguarding human rights, the substantive and visible protection of those rights and the exposure of violations of rights if they do occur are the best means of building public confidence in policing and ensuring an effective and efficient police service which can police with the consent of the community. Recommendation 1 of the Patten Report required that there be a “comprehensive programme of action to focus policing in Northern Ireland on a human rights-based approach.”3 In response to that recommendation, PSNI published a Human Rights Programme of Action on 10 September 2004. The Programme of Action was indicative of PSNI’s willingness at an organisational level to embrace human rights not only as a core value in all police processes, but also as a guide to behaviour. It set out in detail the steps that had been taken to ensure that the policing focus in Northern Ireland remained on human rights, for example, the introduction of a new police oath of office reflecting a commitment to human rights; publication of a Code of Ethics setting down the standards of conduct and practice expected of police officers and intended to make 1 A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland, Report of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, September 1999, paragraph 4.1. 2 The Policing Board is required by section 3(3)(b)(ii) of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 to monitor the performance of the PSNI in complying with the Human Rights Act 1998. 3 A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland, paragraph 4.6. 2 officers aware of their obligations under the Human Rights Act 1998, the European Convention on Human Rights and other relevant human rights instruments;4 and the incorporation of human rights principles into all aspects of police training. PSNI indicated that it regarded Patten Recommendation 1 as an obligation to put in place and maintain an overall framework for human rights compliance. The Policing Board suggested that the best way of ensuring the long-term focus on human rights was for PSNI to draw up a Human Rights Programme of Action annually in which the police would respond with specificity to the recommendations contained within the Policing Board’s Human Rights Annual Reports. PSNI agreed with this proposal and has published a Human Rights Programme of Action each year since 2005. The Board’s Human Rights Annual Report 2015, published on 31 March 2016, made 14 new recommendations for PSNI to implement relating to issues such as human rights training, policy and guidance in relation to Domestic Violence Protection Notices, the operation of the Youth Diversion Scheme, the deployment of Small Unmanned Aircraft, the service of non-molestation orders and police detention. One recommendation remained outstanding from the Human Rights Annual Report 2014 which related to the publication of all Policy Directives and Service Procedures on the PSNI website. In May 2016, PSNI published its Human Rights Programme of Action 2015/16.5 The Programme of Action confirmed PSNI’s acceptance of all 14 recommendations and outlined the steps taken, or proposed, to give effect to them and the outstanding recommendation from 2014. Since then the Performance Committee has received various reports from PSNI on its implementation of the recommendations and the Policing Board’s Human Rights Advisor has met with many of the officers and staff responsible for taking forward the work. Progress is reported upon in the relevant chapters of this Human Rights Annual Report and in Appendix 2. 4 Including the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials; the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials; and the European Police Code of Ethics. 5 The PSNI Programme of Action 2015/2016 is available to download through the PSNI website: https://www.psni.police.uk/inside-psni/our-policies-and-procedures/human-rights/ 3 In his introductory comments to the 2015/16 Human Rights Programme of Action, Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton comments that PSNI embraces the challenge brought by the Policing Board through its human rights monitoring work and acknowledges that while implementation of the recommendations demands time and resource, it leads to improvements in policing. The Performance Committee welcomes ACC Hamilton’s comments. This Human Rights Annual Report covers the period to September 2017. 4 3 TRAINING Effective training in human rights principles and practice is fundamental to any organisation committed to compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998. That was recognised in the Patten Report where it was observed, “training will be one of the keys to instilling a human rights-based approach into both new recruits and experienced police personnel”.6 For that reason, it was recommended that, as a matter of priority, all members of the PSNI should be instructed in the implications for policing of the Human Rights Act 1998, and the wider context of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).7 It was also recommended that, “all police officers, and police civilians, should be trained (and updated as required) in the fundamental principles and standards of human rights and the practical implications for policing”.8 To reflect the ever changing environment in which police officers and staff operate, the emerging jurisprudence of the courts and the development of new international treaties and instruments, for example the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,9 training must be continually reviewed and up-dated. The PSNI has striven to give full effect to the Patten recommendation and subsequent recommendations made by consecutive Human Rights Annual Reports. The PSNI recognises that training is essential to ensuring that police officers and staff are aware of the technicalities of protecting, respecting and fulfilling human rights law and that effective training is critical to providing a better and more instinctive understanding of the complex rights engaged and how those rights must be balanced. Human rights are no longer taught solely in a stand-alone lesson (although there is a dedicated introduction to human rights lesson for new recruits which is important and effective) but are integrated into all training in a meaningful and practical way. In particular, the PSNI accepted that the most effective training is interactive and delivered in operational scenarios. 6 A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland, Report of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, September 1999, paragraph 4.9. 7 Ibid. Recommendation 142. 8 Ibid. Recommendation 4. 9 A copy of the Convention can be accessed at:www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml 5 During 2016/17 however it became clear that, in respect of Police College, Garnerville, there had been a reversal of the significant progress made until then. A review carried out by Police Scotland uncovered a number of issues in relation to culture and ethos within Police College, which required urgent and fundamental reform. That is discussed below. The review caused the Policing Board serious concern not least because culture and ethos is instilled at the outset and can influence student officers in their approach to policing when they leave Police College. The review did not suggest that the educational content of lessons was anything other than good quality but it found that the focus of training did not reflect sufficiently the Chief Constable’s strategic objectives.